Abingdonian 2018

45 www.abingdon.org.uk Summer Term Lower School Musical Ensembles Junior Strings Junior Strings this year has been a huge success with many new members joining from the first year creating a string ensemble of over ten players! Over the year we have played a variety of fun and enjoyable pieces and many have said that the Junior Strings this year has been the best they have ever heard. This year Junior Strings has been a large ensemble of two double basses, three cellos, one viola and over six violins, meaning the music we have been producing has had a full sound. The music we have played has been fun and exciting and we even got to choose what we played. This has meant we have played a variety of different pieces ranging from John Williams’ Star Wars theme tune to Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head , by Burt Bacharach. Over the year we have played in a number of different concerts including the Lower School Gala Concert and many of the lunchtime concerts. At each of the different concerts we played well and were given lots of praise for great performances. The main objective of Junior Strings is to have fun and this shows as everybody turns up week in and out to make music. When we play we try to make a welcoming environment where people can make mistakes which means the inexperienced players can develop their playing and derive maximum fun. In my opinion Junior Strings has been incredibly fun and the concerts we have played in have gone extremely well. Well done to everybody involved in Junior Strings! Jonathan Pannett-Smith, 2HFCP Junior Blues Junior Blues is a great club to join if you are an enthusiastic musician looking for excitement in music. We are all friendly with each other and have a wonderful instructor called Mr Owen (he is also a guitar teacher). Anyone can join from beginner to expert. We perform at the end of each term. Our main performance is at the end of year Gala Concert. We performed a medley in which consisted of songs such as The Chain, Sweet Child of Mine, House of the Rising Sun and Smoke on the Water . Any instrument can fit into our songs as we like to have a large variety. We even had two pianists on one piano! We performed at four concerts this year in front of the school, teachers, and our families. Our aim in Junior Blues is to have fun together and to excite the crowd! This year has been great in Junior Blues and everyone has taken to their instruments very keenly. We can all say that it has been a great experience. It is a fantastic way to enjoy magnificent songs that we don’t hear that often. We have had a very successful year. Well done to everyone in Junior Blues and a huge thank you to Mr Owen for allowing us to have this great experience. Fran Trotter, 2HFCP Lower School Band Lower School Band is a group made to get any level of musician involved in playing with their friends. We have a very mixed group, from grade 8 players to players that are just starting off, which provides the Friday lunchtime rehearsals with a fun and positive vibe and attitude. We’ve played a large range of songs and melodies, ranging from solo featuring pieces to songs that we all know and like. With a large band this year, with lots of potential, we have a very varied base of instruments, with doubles on every part. This gives the band real strength, as it means the more experienced players can help the people starting off to develop their playing, with the help of Mr Townsend, our band leader and conductor, who helps us celebrate music through playing. Everyone always turns up, and we all show loyalty, which proves the fact we have lots of fun, and enjoy playing music with our friends, which is what it’s all about. It also improves the players, helping us understand what it’s like to be in a band, and this really develops musical understanding, and means we learn lots as well. We regularly have concerts in front of our peers and parents, which have actually all gone to plan! It’s a great way to enjoy music and have fun. Felix Kind, 2HFCP